Braves reliever A.J. Minter is headed for surgery to address a left hip issue, manager Brian Snitker told reporters, via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Snitker did not know whether the procedure will end Minter’s season, but that at least seems in question with less than two months to play.
Atlanta placed the southpaw on the 15-day injured list on Monday. It was the second time this year that a left hip problem had shelved him. Minter missed a month between the end of May and beginning of July. He pitched for six weeks before the injury required another shutdown. Minter visited a specialist this week, and that examination evidently revealed he’ll need to undergo surgery.
If this does conclude his season, it might also mark the end his tenure in Atlanta. Minter will be a free agent for the first time in his career next offseason. The Braves haven’t been afraid to invest in their bullpen, so perhaps they’ll make an effort to retain him. They already have Raisel Iglesias, Joe Jiménez, Pierce Johnson and (via affordable club option) Aaron Bummer under contract for next year. They’ll also need to make some decisions regarding their rotation and potentially look to upgrade on Orlando Arcia at shortstop.
A second-round pick in 2015, Minter has been one of the better setup options in the league over his career. He had a disastrous 2019 season but otherwise has allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine in every year. Minter has generally pitched in medium to high-leverage spots. He’s had another nice season when healthy, working to a 2.62 ERA across 34 1/3 frames. His 26.1% strikeout rate is down a bit from its 2022-23 level but remains a few points better than league average.
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